財新制造業PMI降至7個月新低

An independent survey of China’s manufacturing sector indicates business activity grew at the slowest pace since September last month as sluggish demand dragged on production, putting the country’s factories on uncertain footing at the start of the second quarter.

對中國製造業進行的一項獨立調查顯示，上月商業活動增速處於去年9月以來的最低水平，需求疲弱拖累生產，讓中國工廠在第二季度的第一個月陷入不確定性之中。

The Caixin-Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 50.3 in April, a seven-month low that put it substantially closer to the 50-point line separating Growth from contraction compared to a reading of 51.2 in March, as well as further beneath the level reported by China’s official manufacturing gauge.

財新(Caixin) Markit製造業採購經理人指數(PMI) 4月下降至50.3，爲7個月以來的低點，距離50的榮枯線接近了很多（3月的該指數是51.2），它也進一步低於中國官方的製造業PMI。

Manufacturers surveyed last month for the independent survey reported markedly slower growth in both output and new orders, with consumer goods output keeping overall production from falling further on declines from intermediate and investment goods.

上月接受獨立調查的製造商表示，產出和新訂單增長均出現明顯放緩，消費產品產出增長，使得整體產出沒有因中間品和投資品的增長下降而進一步下降。

Growth in new export orders also fell to a marginal level – and the weakest reading since the current four-month growth streak began – thanks to contraction in demand for capital goods.

由於資本商品需求萎縮，新出口訂單增長也下降至邊際水平——這在當前連續4個月增長期間是最爲疲弱的讀數。

A sub-index for employment marked its 42nd consecutive month of contraction, with the pace of jobs shedding accelerating to the fastest pace since January. Inflation also slowed sharply, with growth in output prices rising at the slowest pace in eight months as input prices grew at the slowest pace in seven months.

就業分項指數連續第42個月收縮，就業流失速度加快至今年1月以來的最快水平。通脹也急劇放緩，出廠價格增速是8個月以來最慢的，原材料購進價格出現7個月以來的最慢增速。

The Caixin gauge, which focuses primarily on smaller, private manufacturers, came in markedly below the April reading of 51.2 from the official manufacturing PMI produced by the National Bureau of Statistics. The latter chiefly tracks larger state-owned companies, suggesting the latest fallback in growth is centred in the private sector.

財新指數主要關注規模較小的民營企業，該指數明顯低於中國國家統計局(NBS)公佈的4月51.2官方製造業PMI指數——官方指數主要跟蹤研究較大型國有企業的經營活動——這似乎表明最新的增長回落主要集中在私營領域。

The latest Caixin reading also makes for a spread between the two gauges of 0.9 in favour of the official gauge, marking the widest spread between the two since June 2016.

最新的財新指數也標誌着比官方指數低0.9點，這是兩項指數自2016年6月以來最大的差距。